Amnesty hails release of Mexican journalists

Mexico City, Sep 8 (IANS/EFE) Amnesty International has praised the release of two Mexican journalists, arrested while covering teachers' protests in the capital against President Enrique Peña Nieto's education overhaul.

Journalists Gustavo Ruiz Lizarraga and Pavel Alejandro Primo were freed Friday along with four other activists arrested during the demonstrations, the London-based human rights group said, adding that one person still remains in custody.

Amnesty sources said the journalists still face several charges, including resisting arrest, and called on authorities to ensure they be granted due process.

The rights group also demanded an explanation for the arrests, saying that, based on publicly released video footage, they appeared to have been detained while carrying out their "legitimate work".

Ruiz Lizarraga, a photographer with SubVersiones news agency, was arrested while filming police arresting protesters, said Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

Before being taken into custody, he handed his camera to a colleague and the video footage he captured "provided evidence of the police abuses and disproved the accusations that have been made against the detained journalists", the watchdog said in a statement.

--IANS/EFE

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